SECU Annual Membership Meeting 2026: A "Member Forum"?

   2026 SECU Annual Meeting 

Talked yesterday about how the SECU Annual Meeting has been debased by the ever escalating restrictions on member participation [link]. The SECU Board seems to have adopted the late 1800's authoritarian attitude that: "Children should be seen, not heard"! 

But, the Board still permits SECU members to listen, as long as we do so quietly - mutely! The meeting agenda calls for a "Q&A" session in which our CEO will read answers to questions submitted in advance. Have received a number of the questions submitted. Thought we might take a look at a few of them over the next few days.

The questions seem to fall into 3 broad categories: internal, governance, and future/ethical/integrity concerns. Let's start with the internal issues. First, it's impossible for anyone to respond to the employee and member "friction" questions which arise in the normal course of business. Often very personal! Need to talk with your local manager or HR about those. But here are a couple which seemed broader:

1. Does the Board intend to degrade employee health coverage as they did with retirees?
2. When will the "core" computer conversion be completed? 
3. Is the Board aware of how poor our service has become on call center contacts? Why not? 
4. Why doesn't the Board publish our monthly financial statements online? Is there a problem?
5. Am I the only person experiencing problems with the new bill pay? Late payments, dropped items, issued a post-dated check which "bounced"! Fixed? 
6. Do you still intend to make risk rated mortgage loans to us?
7. How will you handle layoffs caused by AI? How many do you forecast?
8. Please do a professional, independent, anonymous employee survey. You need to know.

Not too bad a list, with some important questions. Would add that the SECU Board might take a hint from #8 and add a "professional, independent, anonymous" member survey, too. 

SECU used to be among the most favorably-ranked credit unions by members in the U.S. - still true? The type of "member survey" techniques now being used by SECU are neither empirically grounded, nor  statistically sound. 

😎 Can be risky operating in the blind!

 "Member forum"... for-us or for-them?

SECU Annual Membership Meeting 2026: "Fake News"?

   2026 SECU Annual Meeting 

It is easy to get confused these days about what is real and what isn't. Whose opinion do you trust, was it fact checked, by whom, what was in it for them, are they telling the truth, were there other options? 

Which leads us to the 2026 SECU Annual Membership Meeting - the annual business meeting of the members! - to be held at 1:00 pm, October 13 - next Tuesday! [link].  

Is this year's Annual meeting "for real", or not? Why do you ask? First, because of the elimination by the SECU Board of participation by SECU members in the Annual meeting. The Board has dictated that active interaction by SECU's 3 million+ member-owners is now prohibited:

Meeting Year     Member May Speak     Member Resolutions

       2022                 Fully Permitted         Fully Permitted

       2023                    Restricted                     Restricted

       2024                    Prohibited                    Restricted

       2025                    Prohibited                    Prohibited 

The SECU Board might try to claim that statement is not true because of the always important business session at the Annual meeting. But, if you'll take a look at the "Notice of Annual Meeting" [link - top p.3], the Board itself clearly states the following: "The one item of business will be an election of three of the eleven Board of Directors positions."

✔ You might recall that the SECU Board of Directors was pretty intent on doing away with that remaining "one item" of business too, with the now infamous " no amendment amendments" from last September, 2025. [link]. 

Only the steadfast willingness to challenge all this by Julian Hawes and Barry Browning (plus some growing tired, but loyal petition signers!!!) has prevented that goal of a "no item" business meeting at SECU being achieved in 2026.

😎 First the "no amendment amendments", then the "no members membership meeting", and next the "no business business meeting"...? 

   What does that leave? ... that's none of your business!